A chara, – The then-minister of education Ruairí Quinn commissioned a report into the income of private schools that concluded that they had an extra €80 million to spend on additional support and facilities because of the income from fees and the fact that the Department of Education paid the teachers’ salaries in full. The department spokesperson estimated that the cessation of this payment by the State would cost the taxpayer at least €23 million because some private schools would opt to enter the free scheme.
I believe that those private schools were bluffing, and this is a gross overestimate. Even if the threat were to materialise, it would be a price well worth paying as a crucial step towards social cohesion.
There is a certain irony that Ruairí Quinn is now a now a member of the advisory board of the most expensive private school in the State, Nord Anglia International School in Dublin. – Yours, etc,
PEADAR Mac MAGHNAIS,
Baile Átha Cliath 5.